Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 March 2024.

France, Germany and the UK (E3) gave a joint statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on Iran’s implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA.

Chair, On behalf of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, I thank Director General Grossi for his latest report GOV/2024/7, and Deputy Director General Aparo for his technical briefing.

We are grateful to the Agency for the professional and impartial work of their team of inspectors and for their objective reporting on Iran’s nuclear programme. We encourage the Director General to keep the Board informed of all activities and developments requiring clarification by Iran.

Regrettably, the IAEA’s report again confirms that Iran continues on its escalatory path, in increasing violation of its JCPoA commitments. Over the past five years, Iran has pushed its nuclear activities to new heights that are unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons programme. Iran continues to refuse to reverse the de-designation of Agency inspectors and is failing to implement the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023. These actions cast reasonable doubt on Iran’s willingness to fully live up to its obligation and commitment to cooperate with the IAEA. This is shown by the IAEA not being able to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Chair, In the reporting period, Iran has continued enriching uranium far beyond what it committed to in the JCPoA. It now possesses 27 times the JCPoA limit of enriched uranium. The recent slight reduction of the stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 % should not lead us to false hope and wrong conclusions: enrichment up to 60 % has continued unabatedly; increasing rates of production will soon see the stockpile increase again: and downblending has amplified the sharp increase of the stockpile of uranium enriched up to 20 %. Overall, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has increased by 30 % in just three and half months. Iran likely now has about three significant quantities of highly enriched uranium. The IAEA defines a significant quantity as the approximate amount of nuclear material from which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded.

Iran has also installed yet more advanced centrifuges and has laid ground for a further expansion of its enrichment capabilities, including at the underground Fordow site. We recall the significant work previously reported by the IAEA on uranium metal, which is a key step for the development of a nuclear weapon, and takes Iran dangerously close to actual weapons-related activity.

Furthermore, DG Grossi rightly reports that Iran has taken no meaningful steps to implement the Joint Statement. We note that Iran has taken no substantial action in response to the DG’s request to re-designate experienced Agency inspectors. Combined with Iran’s continued nonapplication of the Additional Protocol, this action by Iran seriously affects the IAEA’s verification and monitoring capabilities and activities. The DG states in his report that, Iran’s continued lack of transparency and its active rejection of verification measures provided for in the JCPoA means the Agency has definitively lost continuity of knowledge in a variety of fields. The IAEA does not know, for example, how many centrifuges Iran has and where they may be located. This information gap has had detrimental implications for the Agency’s ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Chair, The E3 have consistently worked towards a diplomatic solution that would permit Iran to return to full compliance with its international obligations and JCPoA commitments. Iran failed to prove its readiness for such a negotiated outcome by refusing reasonable proposals that were put on the table in March 2022 and again in August 2022, and has instead chosen to further advance its nuclear programme. We reiterate our call on Iran to halt its nuclear escalation. We strongly urge Iran to return to the limits imposed by the JCPoA, in particular regarding enrichment capabilities and activities; and to finally live up to the commitments it has made regarding transparency and cooperation with the IAEA necessary for effective verification and monitoring. We also urge Iran to re-apply all transparency measures that it stopped in February 2021 and that were agreed to in the 4 March 2023 Joint Statement between Iran and the IAEA, as well as to re-implement and swiftly ratify its Additional Protocol. Iran must now take serious and meaningful steps that show a genuine desire to de-escalate and to rebuild urgently needed trust between Iran and the international community. Recent public statements made in Iran regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons go in the opposite direction and are all the more concerning and inconsistent with Iran’s legal obligations under the NPT.

Chair, The DG’s report makes very clear that Iran’s nuclear advances significantly harm international security and undermine the global non-proliferation architecture. We will continue consultations, alongside international partners, on how best to address increasing doubts about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. We remain committed to a diplomatic solution and stand ready to use all diplomatic levers available to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Finally, we ask the Director General to keep the Board of Governors informed on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme well ahead of the next meeting in June 2024, and provide earlier updates as necessary. We also ask for the report to be made public.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 March 2024.

At the OSCE FSC Security Dialogue, Ambassador Neil Holland speaks about the importance of Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr Chair. And thank you panellists, for sharing your expertise on this important subject. It is absolutely right that we discuss the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda in the FSC, on the week that we mark International Women’s Day.

It is more than ten years since Russia sought to illegally annex Crimea and over two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Events on the ground continue to demonstrate the relevance of Women, Peace and Security to the politico-military dimension. The WPS Agenda aims to recognise and empower women as integral stakeholders and decision makers in international security. We see this in Ukraine every day. As our Ukrainian colleague made clear, tens of thousands of women serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Territorial Defence Forces. Many more play crucial roles across society – including as medical professionals, first responders, aid workers – often in addition to being primary caregivers. We salute their courage and resilience in helping Ukraine secure a successful and sustainable peace.

Two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, we continue to witness the disproportionate impact of war on women and girls. The WPS Agenda also aims to protect victims and survivors. This is why the UK is resolutely committed to holding all those responsible to account, including through our support for the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group. This was launched in May 2022 to reinforce Ukraine’s domestic investigations and the prosecution of core international crimes. As part of this work, a member of the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Team of Experts is working to support the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General to implement its Conflict-Related Sexual Violence strategy. This includes helping to embed international guidelines and best practice, including on survivor-centred approaches, into the work of Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators.  We have also stepped up our assistance to the ICC. The international community and national authorities must work to uphold survivor’s rights and help bring perpetrators to justice.

At home, the UK is making progress towards enhancing women’s participation. The numbers of women serving in the armed forces have been steadily rising and we have worked hard to facilitate meaningful inclusion. This includes through the provision of flexible working schemes and gender-sensitive improvements to training and uniform.

In 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse. This is in addition to mandatory pre-deployment gender awareness training and annual refreshers on international humanitarian law.

At the OSCE, the UK and Belgium championed the annual voluntary report on WPS under the Code of Conduct (on Politico-Military Aspects of Security). We thank the many participating States which have already submitted returns and encourage others to use the questionnaire to help share best practice.

Mr Chair, the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women in all aspects and at all levels of security is essential to achieving better outcomes for peace and security.  This is not only the right thing to do – it also leads to more conflict-sensitive and strategic outcomes. And where militaries break international law, by targeting non-combatants including women and girls, we will hold the perpetrators to account. Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 March 2024.

UK Statement for Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

Thank you, Mr President.

The United Kingdom thanks the Special Rapporteur for her work to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all.

Freedom of religion or belief remains a priority for our bilateral and multilateral work and was among our national pledges to mark last year’s anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Following the 2022 UK-hosted international Ministerial conference on freedom of religion or belief, we pledged to build coalitions. We continue to turn these words into action. In June 2023, we led with the UAE Security Council resolution 2686 which directly addresses, for the first time, the persecution of religious minorities in conflict settings. We also work to strengthen freedom of religion or belief through the International Contact Group and the International Religious Freedom and Belief Alliance, which we chaired for 2 years.

More must be done. The scale and severity of violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief globally remains deeply concerning, including for the Baha’i community in Yemen and Iran, the Ahmadis in Pakistan and the Roman Catholic Church in Nicaragua. We must work collaboratively to unite around an approach that respects all human rights.

Special Rapporteur,

How can the international community increase collaborative efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief?

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 March 2024.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.

Thank you, President,  and like others I would like to thank SRSG Otunbayeva and Fatima Gailani for their briefings.

And thank you too to  UNAMA’s staff for all the work they do to support the Afghan people.

UNAMA’s latest report outlines the challenges that Afghanistan continues to face – restrictions on the rights of women and girls are becoming stricter and over half the country’s population will require humanitarian assistance this year.

So it is vital that we collectively continue to support the Afghan people.

First, by the international community staying united, or in Ms Gailani’s word, cohesive, in its engagement with the Taliban.

The future path for an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours is laid out in the Special Coordinator’s Independent Assessment and in resolution 2721.

So we should now seek to move forward with its recommendations, including the formation of a small contact group and the appointment of a Special Envoy.

In order to make further progress the Taliban must meet their international obligations.

Afghanistan cannot be self-reliant when it excludes fifty percent of its people from society.

And without inclusive governance, it will not find durable and lasting peace.

Second, by continuing our urgent action to address the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

The UN’s humanitarian needs and response plan for Afghanistan remains underfunded.

We call on all states to step up their support and the UK’s own bilateral aid programme this year currently stands at $144 million.

We need to support aid agencies as they try to ensure that all marginalised groups have equal, safe, and dignified access to assistance and services.

President, the United Kingdom remains committed to finding a constructive way forward, working with all international partners and a range of Afghan stakeholders in this endeavour.

We continue to stand with the Afghan people.